Typewriting machine



Sept. 22, 1931. J. A. B. SMITH TYPEWHITING MACHINE Filed June 13. 1927 2A FIG 1 FIG Patented Sept. 22, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JESSE A. B. SMITH, 0F STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO UNDERWOOD ELLIOTT FISHER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., .A. CORPORATIONv OF DELAWARE TYPEWRITING MACHINE Application filed June 13,

This invention relates to typewriting machines, and more particularly to means whereby labels and other small work-pieces may be held to the platen to facilitate typing thereon.

A feature of the present invention is the provision of means for holding or clamping labels or small limp work-pieces to the platen. The clamp includes a bowed resilient clamping bar extending the length of the platen, and hooks at the ends thereof for holding, when in effective position, the entire clamping bar firmly against the platen. The bar, owing to its being bowed and resilient, automatically forms a triangular opening with the platen when one of the end hooks is moved to ineffective open position, the opening enabling a very easy and quick removal of a typed label from under the bar and replacement by an untyped label. The open end hook-member may be automatical 1y moved to closed position by the mere application of radial pressure on the unclamped end of the holding bar, to efiect clamping of the work.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of means for automatically releas ing one of said hook-members during the rotation of the platen while bringing the label to its removing position. a

The means for automatically releasing said hook-member comprises a one-way cam mounted on the carriage end plate and cooperating with a projection on the hookmember for swinging said hook to ineffective position. The ca m may be silenced when not wanted.

Other features and advantages will here- 40 inafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is an end elevation of a typewriter-carriage with the present invention applied thereto and showing the label 1n 45 typing position, parts being broken away to 1927. Serial No. 198,365.

label-holder in its open or label-insertingand-removing position.

Figure 4 is an end elevation, showing the label-holder moving under pressure towards the platen and the hook-member about to be swung to effective position.

Figure 5 is a perspective end elevation of the parts in Figure 2 position.

' Figure 6 is a plan view of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the labelholder inFigure 3 position.

Referring to the drawings, types 10 strike against a platen 11 mounted on a shaft 12 by means of end plates 13 fixed to the platen and having hubs 14 suitably secured to the shaft 12, the latter being journaled in end plates 15 of a carriage-frame 16. The platen 11 may be rotated by a hand-wheel 17 mount ed on the'shaft 12 or by line-spaced mechanism (not shown).

In order to facilitate the typing of labels or small work-pieces 18, a label-holder 19 is provided. The holder consists of a thin, bowed, resilient bar 20 extending'the length of the platen and curved transversely to conform with the curvature thereof. The bar 20 terminates in fork-shaped portions 21 bent at right angles to the bar. The forked portions 21 straddle the fiat sides of the hubs 14,

thereby preventing angular displacement of the holder and causing it to rotate with the platen. For holding the bar 20 rigidly against the platen 11, the forked portions 21 each carry at 22 a swingably-mounted latching manner 23. The latches terminate in hooks 24: to embrace the hubs 14 of the platen end plates 13. The latches are provided with projections or handle-pieces 36 by means of which the latches may be manually swung to inefiective position. For holding said latches in either their effective or ineffective position, each latch is provided with a doubleacting spring 25 connected at one end to a pin 26 fixed to the forked portion 21, and connected at its other end to a pin 27 fixed to the latch-member 23. The hook 24 of each latch may be limited in its outward swinging movement by means of the pin 26 extending through a slot 28 in the latch, so that, when the hook is swung outwardly about its pivot 22 to ineffective position, the pin 26 will con tact with the end of the slot 28 and thereby prevent further outward swinging of the hook 24. The hook is held in this position by means of the spring 25. The bar 20 is made of slightly resilient sheet-metal and is bowed at its middle portion so that if one end of the bar is held against the platen by the hook or latch member 23 at that end, while the other end hook-member isreleased, the bar 20, due to the bar being bowed and resilient, will move angularly and away from the platen at its unlatched end and will be guided in this outward movement by the forked portions 21 to thus form a triangular opening (Figure 7) with the'platent 11, thereby enabling avery easy and quick insertion or removal of a label. The label 18 may be inserted under the bar 20 at. the outer end where there is a wide opening between the bar 20v and the platen 11, and may then be moved towards the center of the platen where the bowed bar exerts the most pressure on the platen when both ends are in clamped position. The open end of the bar is now moved towards the platen to clamp the label firmly in place. According to the present construction: of the latching member 23, the mere pressing of the bar 20 towards the platen, as shown in Figures 4 and 7, will cause 'the camming surface 29.0f the member 23-to abutagainst the hub 14 of the platen end-plates 13 and swing said hook 24 about its pivot 22, which will simultaneously move the V double-acting spring 25 past its dead center,

at which time the spring 25 will pull 011 the latch to swing the hook 24 under the hub 14, thus holding the bar 20 and label 18 firmly against the platen.

After the label is clamped in position against the platen, the latter is rotated to advance the label to typing position where one or morelines may be typed thereon, after which the platen is rotated in the reverse direction to turn the label-holder to a position for removing the typed label and inserting a new one, as shown in Figure 3.

It is one of the features of the present invention to provide means for automatically releasing one of the latch-members 23 during the rotation of the platen for turning the label-holder from label-typing to label-re moving and inserting position, to cause the bar 20 to be automatically moved away from the platen to form the label-inserting opening. The means for unlatching said hookmember 24 includes a plate 30, secured by screws 31 to one of the end plates 15 of the ca-rriage frame 16. The plate has a downwardly extending bracket-piece32 on which an arm .33 is pivotally mounted ,at 34 and carriesat its-lower end a cam 35 extending into the path of the projection or handlepieoe 36 on the latch23. The arm 33 is normally held against a fixed pin 37 on the bracket 32 bymeans of a spring 38 fastened at one end to the pin 37, and at its other end to a fixed pin 39 on the arm 33. It can readily be seen that, when the platen is rotated to retract the label from typing to removing position, the projection 36 will engage the cam 35 (Figures 2 and 5), and, due to the pin 37 preventing any rearward movement of the arm 33 and the cam 35, the projection 36 will be pressed against the cam 35, and by the further rotation of the platen,- the latch 23 will be swung about its pivot 22 to swing the hook 24 clear of the hub 14 to idle open position. The projection 36, during this swinging movement of the latch 23, rides overthe cam 35 until the hook 24 is swung clear of the hub 14, when the bar 20 will moveangularly away from the platen to form the triangular opening therewith. The spring 25, during the swinging motion of the hook 24, is moved past its dead center and will then hold thehook in its open position: After the typed label has been removed and a new label inserted under the bar 20, the latter is pressed radially toward the platen, which, as before described, simultaneously causes the hook 24 to move to effectiveposition. T he projection 36 will now be at the rear of the cam 35, and it is now desired to allow the projection 36 to idly pass the cam 35 when the platen is rotated in the reverse direction to advance the new label to the typing position. For this purpose, the arm 33, carrying the cam 35, is pivotally mounted at. 34- so that when rotary movement of the platen causes the projection 36 to engage the other side of the member 35, the arm 33 may swing about its pivot 34 against'the tension of spring 38, thereby allowing the projection 36 to ride idly past the cam 35.

The spring 38 will return the parts to their normal positions in the path of the projection after the projection 36 has passed the cam 35.

lVhen it is desired to use the machine for regular work, the end latches of the clamping bar are moved to their ineffective position and the bar lifted off the platen. The cam 35 may remain idly in place as it will not interfere with the operation of the machine,

although, if desired, it may also be removed 2;;

from the machine. This may be done by merely removing the screws 31 and-then the plate 30 carrying the cam and the other mechanism, which together form a unit, can be lifted off the machine. It can readily be seen i 1. A work-holder for use on typewritingmachine platens and efiective to clamp the work between the holder and the platen, including a work-clamping bar, means to secure only one end of the bar to the platen, a latch called into action by pressure upon the other end of the bar towards the platen for releasably latching the bar to the platen, and r a frame-supported member effective to trip the latch when the platen is rotated in one direction, means being provided to move the member into inoperative position when the direction of said rotation is reversed.

2. A work-holder for use on typewritingmachine platens and efiective to clamp the work between the holder and the platen, including a work-clamping bar, means effective to detachably secure only one end of the bar to the platen, a latch called into action by pressure upon the other end of the bar to wards the platen for releasably latching the bar, a pivoted member swingably mounted in the path of said latch on the platen-frame for releasing the latch when the platen is rotated in one direction, and means included in said member elfective to engage the latch and swing the member out of the path of the latch when the platen is rotated in the opposite direction.

3. The combination with a revoluble platen having an axle, and a platen-frame, of a work-clamping bar extending along the platen, and having at only one end means to connect it detachably to the platen-axle, the other end of saidbar being forked to bestride said axle detachably at the opposite end of the platen, a latch pivoted upon said other end, a trip detachably mounted on said platen-frame to enable the rotation of the platen to release said latch; said bar being bowed to render it self-opening from the platen for releasing the work-piece when the end of said bar is released by said latch; pressure upon said bar to close it against the platen being effective to cause said latch to catch upon said axle, and a spring to hold said latch closed.

4. The combination with a rotatable platen, an axle and a platen-frame, of a work-clamping bar extending along the platen, means at each end of the bar to secure the bar to the platen, said means including a latch pivoted upon one end of the bar, effective to engage the platen-axle, a trip pivoted on the platenframe in the path of the latch, efiective to trip the latch to release the bar when the platen is rotated in one direction, means to move the trip out of said path when the platen is rotated in the opposite direction, and a spring effective to retain the latch in released position until the bar is manually reset in workclamping position against the platen.

JESSE A. B. SMITH. 

